by M. B. Feeney
“Sophie, it’s so good to see you.” He jumped out of her chair to wrap her in a hug the moment she knocked on the doorframe.
“Thanks Andy. It’s great to see you too.” It was. All the kids loved Andy; to many he was the only positive male role model they had, and he cared for each and every one of them as if they were his own kids. “Are you busy?”
“Nah love. Pull up a chair.”
Both girls sat in the chairs next to his desk.
“I need to talk to you about Stuart.” Sophie blurted out, scared if she didn’t just say it, she’d chicken out completely.
“What about him?” Andy’s face gave no hint of what he was thinking, and that worried Sophie. Would he believe her? She knew her mum had spoken to the police about him, but they couldn’t do anything.
“I don’t know if mum or the police spoke to you while I was away.” She paused, waiting for a response from Andy, all he did was nod which Sophie took to mean they had. “Well, I know nothing could be done then about him, but I’m back and I have proof that he and I were… involved.”
“What proof love?”
Without saying a word, Sophie handed her phone over to him. She’d inserted her old sim card back in, grateful she’d had the foresight to not delete the texts from Stuart when they were together, despite her wanting nothing to do with him. Andy was silent as he scrolled, reading the words, some of which were explicit. When he finished, he handed the phone back to her.
“There are photos too if you-”
“No. I think I’ve seen enough. I think I need to phone that police officer who came here. Will you stay while I do that?”
“Yes. I’ll speak to him too.”
“Thanks love. I’m so sorry you’ve been put through all this by Stuart, and that nothing was done before.”
“It’s okay Andy. Better late than never, right?”
“Yes love. Can you go and wait in the kitchen while I make this call?”
Sophie and Katie walked through the large, empty building thankful Stuart hadn’t arrived for work yet. If he’d been there, Sophie was almost positive she wouldn’t have gone through with it.
Five minutes later, Andy joined them.
“Cuppa while we wait for the old bill girls?”
The police officers were great, one male and one female officer were sent out to the youth centre and helped put Sophie at ease while Andy sat quietly next to her. After she’d told her side of the story, backing up what her mum hadn’t been able to, they went with her to the flat so they could take her official statement in the presence of her mum. They told Andy not to tell Stuart anything and that they would be back to arrest him once they’d finished with the statement.
Sophie wanted to be there when they arrested Stuart. She knew a lot of people would assume she was only doing this because he’d dumped her, but she’d thought about it for a long time. It was clear he got a thrill out of manipulating young girls like her and the one he’d brought to the bed and breakfast, and she didn’t want another girl to go through what she had. No one should have to feel the way she did because of that waste of space.
The police took her statement, and she gave them the memory card from her old phone - she didn’t use it anymore, so it was useless apart from the texts from Stuart. As soon as they left, she gave her mum a tight hug and went to meet Katie so they could go back to the youth centre and see Stuart finally get justice.
There was no sign of the police when they arrived, and they could hear voices of the others inside.
“Are you sure you want to go in and see him?” Katie asked as they slowed outside the door.
“Yes, I need to. I need to get closure from the entire thing, and this is the only way it’s going to happen.” Sophie took a deep breath and walked inside. The first person she saw was Andy who was hiding in his office.
“Is he here?” She asked him quietly. He nodded, obviously not trusting himself to speak. “I’m sorry.” This time, her voice was little more than a whisper.
“Oh love, it’s not your fault at all. It’s mine. I should have noticed what he was doing, but because he passed all the police checks, I thought he was okay. And he was; you lot all liked him, and he worked hard.”
“It’s not your fault either Andy. It’s his.” Sophie gave the older man a quick hug and left the office. As she walked into the large rec room, her heart was hammering against the inside of her chest.
Stuart was over by the pool table, surrounded by a group of lads Sophie recognised from school and the estate. They all turned to look at her as she and Katie made their way to the kitchen to get a drink.
“Back I see.”
Sophie turned to see Stuart standing in the doorway, watching her. She managed to suppress a disgusted shiver but didn’t say anything. Feeling proud of herself, she finished making her drink and pushed past him where she and Katie sat on one of the sofas and waited for the show to start.
By the time the police arrived, the youth centre was packed with kids and teenagers who stopped what they were doing and watched as the two male police officers approached Stuart, read him his rights, and led him out of the building in handcuffs.
As one of the officers bent Stuart’s head so he didn’t hurt himself getting into the car, he turned to look right at Sophie, his lip curling in anger.
“You bitch.”
Eighteen Months Later
“Sophie, your mum will be here soon. Are you dressed?” Joan called up the stairs.
“Five minutes!” Sophie’s reply floated down to the older woman’s ears. Smiling to herself, Joan returned to the dining room to finish cleaning up after breakfast. After a few minutes, she heard the thundering of Sophie’s feet on the stairs as she came down them.
“Sorry I took so long, I was sorting out their rooms.”
“Love, they were ready yesterday.” The bed and breakfast was going strong, and there were a couple of rooms that Sophie and Joan always kept free for Sophie’s family, so they always had a bed when they came to visit; which was often as the twins loved the beach, and Jake had found a local rugby team that let him train with them whenever he was in Brighton.
Joan had her suspicions that the entire family may end up relocating to the seaside town eventually, and she looked forward to the day they did.
“Hey, anyone home?” Freddie’s voice was loud in the quiet house as he let himself in. Sophie ran out to greet him, wrapping her arms around his neck and planting a kiss on his lips.
“Everyone okay?” She asked, letting go of him and going outside to greet her family.
“Yeah, Maisie was a little car sick, but nothing major.” Freddie spoke as he followed her outside to help bring bags inside. It was going to be a hectic week, but everyone was looking forward to it.
“Mum, are you ready?” Sophie asked her once the bags had been put away, and everyone had finished a cup of tea.
“Yes love. Let’s go.”
Sophie, her mum, and Joan left the twins to go to the beach with Freddie and Jake so they could walk to the school to pick up Sophie’s exam results, the two older women seemingly more nervous than Sophie herself.
Ever since her ordeal with Stuart and the aftermath of her abortion, Sophie had decided she wanted to become a counsellor like Harriet Andrews, the woman she’d spoken to when she’d returned home to London for a while. Sophie had kept in contact with Harriet, exchanging emails and the odd phone call whenever Sophie was feeling a little overwhelmed in her new school. It was because of Harriet that Sophie wanted to help kids, help them get through what life threw at them, help them learn from their mistakes and choices, and most of all, help them reconnect with family and friends where needed.
She had worked hard, hoping to get the grades to go to the college she wanted so she would be making the first step on the ladder of the career she wanted. Sophie just hoped the results she picked up today were good enough to start towards the goal she had set herself.
The three women returned to
the house to discover Freddie, Jake, and the twins had decorated it with ‘congratulations’ banners and balloons.
“How did you know?” Sophie asked, hugging them all, happy tears streaming down her face.
“Mum text us while you were on the phone to Katie.” Jake replied, a grin on his face.
“I love you guys, all of you. Thank you for being here for this.”
Sophie looked around the room, surrounded by friends and family. Everyone she loved dearly was in the room and she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else, with anyone else.
“There she goes, onto great things.” Freddie whispered in her ear as he wrapped an arm around Sophie’s waist.
And for the first time in a long time, those words no longer caused her pain.
The End
Samaritans UK
www.samaritans.org
Samaritans US
www.samaritansusa.org
Childline (UK Only)
www.childline.org.uk
Childhelp (US)
www.childhelp.org/hotline
Bullying Support (UK)
www.bullying.co.uk
No Bullying (USA)
nobullying.com/bullying-help-usa
NSPCC (UK)
www.nspcc.org.uk
National Runaway Safeline (US)
www.1800runaway.org
Planned Parenthood (US)
www.plannedparenthood.org
Brook Clinics (UK)
www.brook.org.uk
If you are not in the UK or the USA, some of these websites may have links to support groups in your country, and even phone numbers for you to call up and speak to someone.
If you can, speak to a teacher, a parent, the parent of a friend, or a friend to see if they are able to get you the help you need. In extreme cases, please contact your local police department.
As always, I have a plethora of people to thank, and if I miss anyone out (which I am guaranteed to do), please don’t hate me.
Karen and Clare, thank you for organising the anthology part one was originally a part of. You both care so much about other people so much, I often feel inferior, but I’m trying to be better.
Sarah. As always, thank you for being my sounding board, my friend, and my parabatai. I bloody love you. Please don’t ever stop being the grumpy wench I know and love.
Tori. You have been an utter superstar helping me get this ready for public consumption. Thank you so much.
Tammy, your ability to turn a plain word doc into an actual book astounds me over and over… not all heroes wear capes, no matter how frustrated they get. I adore you and a meet up is way overdue.
To my amazing reader group, M. B. Feeney’s Inner Circle - you manage to talk me off many a ledge when needed, you support me, and you listen to me babble on about stupid things. I wouldn’t be without any of you.
And finally (I think), you. The person who has read this far. Thank you for taking a chance on this book. Whether it’s the first by me or the tenth, you can never understand what it means to me that you have invested the time on me and my work. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
M. B. Feeney is an army brat who finally settled down in Birmingham, UK with her other half, two kids and a dog. She often procrastinates by listening to music of all genres and trying to get ‘just one more paragraph’ written on whichever WIP is open; she is also a serious doodler and chocoholic. Writing has been her one true love ever since she could spell, and publishing is the final culmination of her hard work and ambition.
Her publishing career began with two novellas, and she currently has multiple projects under way, in the hopes that her portfolio of what have been described as “everyday love stories for everyday people” will continue to grow. Always having something on the go can often lead to block which eventually gets dissolved by good music and an even better book.
Her main reason for writing is to not only give her readers enjoyment, but also to create a story and characters that stay with readers long after the book is finished, and possibly make someone stop and think “what if...”
Right Click, Love
Just Like in the Movies
Honour
The One That Got Away
Dear Diary
Reluctance
Repentance
Dear John
The Exchange Series: The Complete Collection
It Started in Texas
Looking Back from L.A.
Girls and Boys
Mile High
While You Were Asleep
Where There’s a Will…
When Cosmic Tush hire the back room in Zoe’s pub to record the video to their comeback single, her life is flipped upside down, and it’s not because her favourite band invade her life.
Will Harvey, just as popular within the fandom, is a pushy charmer, and he has his eye on Zoe. Not that she complains that much, what’s wrong with a bit of harmless flirting and a fling?
It’s just a shame her heart and her head are at odds with each other while she tries to maintain a certain amount of distance during the short time Will’s in London, but when he returns to the US, she finds it harder than she thought to get over him.
Where there’s a Will… will he find a way to make the both of them realise they deserve more?
Read on for a snippet of
‘Where There’s a Will’…
Zoe
Nothing Lasts Forever
It’s amazing how plans for the future have a bad habit of changing with circumstance. Just a year ago, I’d left university with a degree in History, and was planning to go and work in the US in a museum; yet here I am, living in London running my own pub.
Don’t get me wrong; although it’s ridiculously long hours, I love every minute of it. I miss the academic side of stuff, but I am a naturally social person, so this job suits me down to the ground. I have my regular customers who I know almost as well as my own family - better maybe considering as I have little to no contact with them – and the walk ins are often interesting to chat to as they are completely new faces.
The long hours are a major drawback, especially when it comes to having or maintaining a social life. The majority of my friends understand and are often found propping up the bar until the early hours. Particularly on a Friday or Saturday evening when we would crank up the sound system and have a bit of a party.
I spent most of my ‘quiet time’ on social media once all my jobs for the day were done, and as the pub was in amongst office buildings, the after-work crowd didn’t stay long, so quiet time was quite frequent Mondays to Wednesdays. Thursdays, I had a regular group of comic book collectors who came in for a few hours. A few other of the customers often laughed at the group of grown men being fans of comics, but the group were great, and never caused any trouble.
My one member of staff, Casey, had worked for me since I’d started at The Bridge Inn, and had soon become a close friend. Between the two of us, the pub was doing well and brought in plenty of takings. We were constant fixtures behind the bar, and because of that, the punters knew they would always see a smiling and friendly face when they came in.
In the evenings, I spent a lot of time sat at the end of the bar in the longue catching up on paperwork while Casey worked the bar. I didn’t like sitting in my tiny office when I could be a visible presence to the customers, and keep Casey company when things died down, or help if it got busy. I was always accompanied by a large cup of coffee and my phone which was usually open on my twitter app.
I was sat in that very spot on a quiet Tuesday evening, chatting to friends around the world – my paperwork finished and cast aside - when the door to the pub opened and I nearly fell off my barstool in shock.
It was a normal day, a bit quiet perhaps, but that tended to happen mid-month. Everyone waiting for payday. After sending Casey home, I made myself and my iPad comfy at the end of the bar.
Just as I was having a blast of Angry Birds, the door swung open allowing the air co
nditioning to escape into the blazing heat outside. I jumped up and made my way behind the huge solid oak bar to wait for a drinks order. As I was putting my iPad out of harm’s way with the glasses, an American voice spoke out.
“Five pints of beer please.” I was sure I recognised the voice; I was positive I did, but it couldn’t be him. I would have heard if he was in the country. Wouldn’t I? Turning around, I looked straight into his brown eyes and my thoughts were confirmed.
“Sure.” I managed to sound normal even though I was screaming like a teenager inside my own head. “Take a seat and I’ll bring them over.” I indicated a group of tables behind him where the rest of his friends, bandmates, I thought to myself, were sat. I quickly poured the drinks and carried them over on a tray. Sam Hollis handed me his credit card to place behind the bar as ‘we’re staying a while’. I slotted it behind the till and grabbed my iPad to fire off a tweet.
“HOW the FUCK did I NOT know Cosmic Tush were in the UK?” I knew I’d been out of the loop for a while, but surely, I would have heard about that. Once I’d poured and delivered their drinks, I decided to grab my cigarettes with a shaking hand and head outside to have a smoke while it was still quiet. My Twitter mentions were going crazy with people telling me that the band was in the UK shooting a new video. How could I have been so blissfully unaware? I finished my cigarette and went back inside. It was bad enough that my favourite band were in the UK, but they were sitting and drinking in my pub.